Georgia's opposition says its leader was detained in altercation with police during protests
In short:
The leader of Georgia's main political opposition has been detained in an altercation with police during ongoing protests against the government.
The eastern European country has experienced seven consecutive nights of rallies against a government decision to suspend talks on Georgia joining the European Union.
The government's decision to suspend talks has plunged Georgia into political crisis and authorities claim to have thwarted an attempted revolution.
The leader of Georgia's main opposition party was knocked to the ground, lost consciousness and was detained by police in the country's capital, in what the party describes as the most high-profile arrest of a senior opposition figure.
The eastern European country saw a seventh consecutive night of protests against a government decision to suspend talks on Georgia joining the European Union (EU).
The string of protests caused a halt to the long-standing national goal of joining the EU and prompted a police crackdown.
The opposition Coalition for Change party — which is a political alliance consisting of the Ahali, Girchi and Droa parties in Georgia — published an edited video on X on Wednesday, local time, showing Nika Gvaramia, the coalition's leader, being carried by the arms and legs by several men down steps.
Nika Gvaramia was surrounded by police officers in a vocal altercation moments before his arrest. (Reuters: Formula TV/Handout)
The party said that Mr Gvaramia, a 48-year-old media manager-turned-politician, was "thrown into a detention car as he was physically assaulted and unconscious".
Reuters was unable to independently verify whether Mr Gvaramia had been beaten, but he did not appear to be moving as he was carried down the steps in the video released by his party.
Police also detained Aleko Elisashvili, a leader of the Strong Georgia opposition party, as well as a leader of the youth protest movement Dafioni, and at least six other members of opposition political parties.
The arrests came as thousands of pro-EU protesters gathered, facing off against a large deployment of riot police who used water cannons and gas to break up previous gatherings.
Georgia has been rocked by a week of consecutive protests levelled against the government after talks to potentially join the European Union were suspended. (Reuters: Irakli Gedenidze)
Local media cited the country's interior ministry as saying seven people had been arrested on charges of "organising and leading group violence", an offence which carries up to nine years in prison.
The ministry said it had searched the houses of six people and seized items including air rifles, fireworks and Molotov cocktails.
A senior official in the interior ministry department that oversees the riot police, published a letter of resignation due to "family circumstances" on Facebook, along with EU and Georgian flag emojis.
Georgian officials have repeatedly accused opposition protesters of plotting a revolution along the lines of Ukraine's 2014 Maidan protests, which ousted a pro-Russian president.
Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze was asked at a press conference about claims authorities were repressing the opposition.
"I would not call it repression, it is more prevention," Mr Kobakhidze said.
He said, without providing evidence, that opposition forces had been supplying protesters with fireworks, which they have hurled at police during demonstrations.
"People were systematically supplied with pyrotechnics and other means by the relevant political forces," Mr Kobakhidze said.
Protesters targeted police with fireworks, which Georgia's prime minister claimed had been supplied by his political opposition. (Reuters: Irakli Gedenidze)
The government's decision to suspend EU talks has plunged Georgia into political crisis and authorities claim to have thwarted an attempted revolution.
Critics have accused the government of turning its back on the West and steering an increasingly authoritarian and pro-Russian course, which the ruling party denies.
Salome Zourabichvili, the country's pro-EU president who has become a voice of the protest movement, wrote on X on Wednesday: "My urgent call to our partners and those who want to prevent (the) crisis to go deeper.
"It is time to put strong pressure on a ruling party that is driving the country over the cliff! Do not be late… !"
A large deployment of riot police used water cannons, flares and gas to break up politically-charged gatherings in the capital city of Tbilisi. (Reuters: Irakli Gedenidze)
A spokeswoman for Coalition for Change said on X that several other party members had been detained alongside Mr Gvaramia.
Mr Kobakhidze has repeatedly praised the police for their response to the protests.
Georgia's public ombudsman, a former opposition politician, accused the police on Tuesday of harshly mistreating people detained during demonstrations, saying their treatment amounted to torture.
The United States on Wednesday denounced the Georgian government's actions against its opposition and protesters.
"The United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party's brutal and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, and opposition figures," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Mr Blinken also warned of possible sanctions against those "who undermine democratic processes or institutions in Georgia."
The EU's foreign affairs spokesperson, Anitta Hipper, wrote on X: "We urge authorities to stop using excessive force and ensure freedom of assembly. All acts of violence must be investigated immediately."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday said the Georgian government's actions were "shameful," and aimed at making the country dependent on Russia.
Georgia's government has repeatedly sparred with Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion, accusing Georgian fighters based in Ukraine of plotting its overthrow.
Reuters